THE NEW STAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 226, 12 June 1918, Page 6

THE NEW STAR

MOST INTERESTING DISCOVERT SINCE 1901. London, June 9. The new star of the first magnitude discovered in the constellation Aqulla on Saturday was observed by five astronomers in different places in.England, also in Madrid. It is regarded as the most interesting discovery since the appearance of Nova Persei, recorded in 1901.— Ans.-N.Z. CaWo Assn. SENSATION IN ASTRONOMICAL WORLD. ( (Rec. June 11-12, midnight.) London, June 10. The new star, Nova Aquiiae, has caused a sensation in the astronomical world. Deroy, secretary of the Antwerp Astronomical Sooiety, was the first observer. The new star, which is tho reward of fifteen years' nightly observation, is one of thirty new stars recorded since 132 B.C.' Dyson, the Astronomer, Royal, states: thftt the star in A.quilae is more brilliant than Nova Persei, discovered in . 1901, and is probably the most brilliant since Keplors discovery of 1607. Some astronomers aio of the opinion that the Nova Aquiiae star waa caused by a collision of meteoric swarnis, perhaps one hundred million times as distant as the mm, but it may only bo an old etar suddenly brightened. They . estimate that tho star began to shine in the'reign of Jamee 1. The light reached the earth on SatuTday. The star is visible by day-light.—Aus.-N:Z. Cable Asan. • . ANCIENT PORTENTS. 11 (By T.C.T.) • With reference to the new star which haii just. made its appearance in the ■heavens, I sun writing below an extract from the "Life o£ Tycho Brahe," written by tho great scientific author, Sir Robert Ball. The paragraph refers to the discovery of a brilliant star, similar to the one at present The extract runs as follows:—"An event, however, occurred in 1572 which stimulated Tycho's astronomical labours, and , started him on hie life's work. On November 11 in that year, ho was returning home to supper after a. day's work in his laboratory when he happened to lift hie faoe to the sky, and there he beheld a. brilliant new star. It was in the constellation of Cassiopeia, and occupied ■ a position in ■which thero had certainly been no bright star visible when his attention had last been diverted to that part of the heavens. Such a phenomenon was so startling that he found it hard to trust the evidence of 'his senses. He thought he must be the subject of some hallucination. Hβ therefore called to the servants who were accompanying him, and asked them whether they, too, could see a brilliant object in tne direction in which he pointed. They certainly could, and thus he became • convinced that this marvellous objeoc was ho mere creation of the fancy, but a veritable celestial body—a new star ol surpassing splendour which had sud-' 'deuly burst forth."

■"When he reached home on this memorable ovening, Tycho immediately applied his great quadrant io the measurement of the place of the new star. His observations were specially directed to the determination of tho distance of the object. .He rightly conjectured if it were very much nearer to us than the stars in its vicinity the dietance of tho brilliant body might be determined in a ehort time by the apparent changes in its distance from tho surrounding points. It wae speedily demonstrated that the now star could not be as near as the 7jioon, by the simplo fact that its apparent place, as computed with the stars in its neighbourhood, was not appreciably altered when it was observed below the Polo, and again above tho I'olu at an interval of twelve hours. Such uoservations were possible, inasmuch as the star was bright enough to be seen in full daylight. Tycho not only pioved that the star's distance was too great for measurement, but he showed that it had no proper motion on the heavens. Ho recorded the successive change,? in its brightness from week to week,' as well as the fluctuations in hue with wli'ieh the alterations in lustre wore accompanied. , '

"The star was at first like Venus and .Tupiter, and its effect will therefore, first, be pleasant; but as it then became like liars, there will next come a period of wars, seditions, captivity, and death of princes, and destruction of citiee, together with dryness and fiery meteors in the air, pestilence and venomous anakes. Lastly, the star 'became like Saturn, and thus wjll finally coino n time of want, death, imprisonment,'and all kind? of sad things—that was Tycho's opinion."

"Ideas of this kind were, however, universally entertained. It seemed, indeed, obvious to learned men of that period that such an apparition 'must forebode startling events. One of the chief theories then held was that just as the Star of Bethlehem announced the first coming of Christ, so the second coming, and the end of the world, was heralded by the new star of 1572."

The above is a vivid description of the new star of 1572. What, is Hie new star 1918? What is the interpretation of